Iran Looking to Take Advantage of America?

Steven LeBlanc

The Persian Gulf States, such as Saudi Arabia, are very concerned that America is flirting with Iran. A flirtation could re-invigorate Iran as the premier power in the region. Iran desperately wants economic sanctions to be lifted—its economy is withering; it needs foreign currency and an outlet for its oil. Lifting sanctions would give Iran the economic strength it craves—thus re-establishing itself as the greater power in the Middle East.

At the same time President Obama is desperate to avoid another war. Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have sapped the American economy, and the will of the American people.

If officials in the Obama administration are to be believed, a dramatic shift is under way in US-Iranian relations. President Obama spoke Friday with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in the first direct conversation between the two countries’ leaders since they broke off diplomatic relations after mobs in Tehran stormed the U.S. embassy in 1979 and held a total of 52 hostages for 444 days.
The two sides are talking to each other with determination not seen before, and without intermediaries for the first time in over three decades. President Obama and Rouhani’s short phone conversation is a big step toward a mutual thaw concerning Iran’s nuclear policy. But is the ‘thaw’ a deception– Israel believes that America is often swayed by ‘wishful’ thinking.

President Obama is afraid if the United States, or Israel, launches an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, Tehran will open the gates of hell and keep them open indefinitely attacking American targets all over the world. What happens to Israel in the event of an American attack on Iran is not the main concern of American policymakers and planners. What the White House is actually worried about is that the many plots against Americans where they live, work, and play will greatly escalate around the world, sending a spasm of fear throughout the nation.

Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel Worried

“I will tell the truth in the face of the sweet talk and the onslaught of smiles,” Netanyahu said before boarding his flight from Israel to the United States on Sunday. “Telling the truth today is vital for the security and peace of the world and, of course, it is vital for the security of the state of Israel.”

The phone call the President made to Rouhani on Friday is disturbing to Israel. Israelis ridiculed the call as Iran’s new “smiley campaign” and tried to persuade the United States not to be swayed by Iran’s new face, however persuasive. Sunday a high level Iranian Foreign minister said, “Negotiations are on the table to discuss various aspects of Iran’s enrichment program,” Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said Sunday in an English-language interview with ABC’s “This Week.”

Ultimately President Obama wants to ‘calm’ the waters. This will make him vulnerable to the Iranians. He does not want Iran to unleash its proxy Army—Hezbollah—that could do severe damage to the United States. Hezbollah is well disciplined and focused. Hezbollah is the ‘cream’ of the world’s terrorist groups, very loyal to the Iranian leadership and ready to give their lives to hurt America or Israel. Their influence is not to be underestimate.

Dangerous Hezbollah

Hezbollah— Lebanon’s Party of God— is both a threat to Israel and America. It is one of the dominant political parties in Lebanon, catering first and foremost (though not exclusively) to Lebanon’s Shi’a community. Hezbollah is also Lebanon’s largest militia, Its goal is to fight against “Western imperialism” and the continued conflict with Israel. “The group is committed to the decrees of Iranian clerics, the Lebanese state, its sectarian Shi’a community, and fellow Shi’a abroad. Hezbollah’s other (often competing) goals have included resisting Israeli occupation of Lebanese territory and contesting, and ultimately seeking to eliminate, Israel’s very existence; promoting the standing of Shi’a communities worldwide; undermining Arab states with Shi’a minorities in an effort to export the Iranian Shi’a revolution; and serving as the long arm of Iran in coordination with the IRGC– Qods Force. The consequences of these competing ideological drivers was clear after Hezbollah dragged both Israel and Lebanon into a war neither state wanted by crossing the UN-demarcated border between the two countries in July 2006 and killing three Israeli soldiers while kidnapping two more”. Levitt, Matthew (2013-09-03). Hezbollah (Kindle Locations 367-376). Georgetown University Press. Kindle Edition.

Has America become once again ‘naïve’ when dealing with its enemies? This is Israel’s concern. The ninth chapter of Joshua records the incident where the Gibeonites, fearing that what had happened to the decimated cities of Jericho and Ai, might also befall them, sought an alliance with Israel. The Israelites debated a foreign policy decision without seeking God’s will; they “did not bother to ask the Lord, but went ahead and signed a peace treaty” [Joshua 9:14-15.] To be sure, the account reveals that the deceitful Gibeonites tricked the Israelites, pretending that they were not native to the area, but instead came from a “distant land.” Our leaders today seem to be so ‘easily’ tricked by foreign leaders. Iran may discontinue work on it nuclear projects, for a season, but it is naïve to think that the American leadership can cause a change of mind among the Iranian leadership. Americans are gullible–this is the thinking in Israel.

The experience with the Gibeonites should have taught Israel’s modem descendants [America & Britain] the pitfalls of entering into alliances with “the nations.” America is well meaning but naïve when it comes to international politics. And most importantly—our leaders do not seek the counsel of God before making major foreign policy decisions. We have long ago stopped seeking out advice from the Word of God. We will pay a price for our foolishness, no matter how sincere it may be.